This invention relates to hand held, small, battery-operated, protable electric lights or flashlights and more particularly to a small, watertight rechargeable light employing a lens cap switch and adapted for underwater use or for above water use in any damp or otherwise hostile environment.
Rechargeable lights per se are old, as are rechargeable lights especially adapted for underwater use. However, these lights suffer from several notable deficiencies. Most require external switch components that deteriorate or malfunction eventually, or require through-casing switch components that leak sonner or later. Prior art lights have internal wiring which is easily broken, particularly when batteries are removed for recharging or replacement. Furthermore, such prior art lights are excessively weighty and bulky, making them difficult to handle and quite expensive to manufacture.
An example of a prior art, bulky, waterproof lanternsized flashlight is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,825 issued to Carl S. Krupansky. Rechargeable lights requiring complex recharging stands for mounting the entire light during recharging are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,517,185 issued to A. H. Moore et al and 3,829,676 issued to Norman C. Nelson et al. Rotary case component switches for flashlights are shown in prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,320,414 issued to C. R. Bowland and 3,835,272 issued to E. M. Wisenbaker.
A very small, single cell flashlight designed for emergency use, having a rotary case component switch and all parts hermetically sealed within the light, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,427,017 issued to W. B. Miller. However, the prior art fails to disclose a small, compact, rechargeable water and moisture resistant light constructed of totally modular units, and including snap-connector light assembly and battery modules and a separate charger with mating snap-connectors thereby permitting very easy breakdown for battery recharging or replacement.